As the voice behind hip hop classics such as “Fight the Power”
and “Bring the Noise,” Chuck D helped inject social
consciousness into the rap genre. Soon, he’ll bring his messages
surrounding politics, society and racial injustice to the University
of Houston.

UH’s American Cultures Program will host the lecture “Race
and Rap in America: An Evening with Chuck D” at
7 p.m., Monday, April 24 in the Cullen Performance Hall. This event
is free and open to the public.

Since the 1980s, D has fronted popular hip hop act Public Enemy.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band skyrocketed to fame
with top-selling albums including 1988’s “It Takes a
Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” and 1990’s “Fear
of a Black Planet” – selected by the Library of Congress
to be preserved in the National Recording Registry. The group’s
music also was featured in director Spike Lee’s films including
1989’s “Do the Right Thing” and 1998’s “He
Got Game.” In addition to his music career, D co-hosts Air
America Radio’s “On the Real.”

“Hip hop has become a dominant force in global youth culture,
shaping young peoples’ dress, language, attitude and behavior,”
said Steven Mintz, John & Rebecca Moores Professor of History.
“For two decades, Chuck D has been hip hop’s most powerful
political voice. The American Cultures Program is delighted that
this legendary figure has agreed to come to UH and explain how hip
hop expresses the anger and pain of the marginalized in our society.”

The American Cultures Program is an academic program within UH’s
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences that provides interdisciplinary
perspectives on the peoples, cultures and history of the Americas.